Help
by Techgoddess420
Summary: When Nick suddenly finds himself in trouble a new face will help him. But who is this mysterious girl who appears out of nowhere? And what does she have to do with the Ultimates?
1. Chapter 1

_**Help**_

_**Chapter I**_

Nick gripped his side hard.

Blood ran through his fingers.

Nick swayed and pressed himself against the wall of the building next to him. He looked up at the raining sky and winced when the movement pulled at his wound. He needed to get to a phone. He needed to get to the Triskelion.

He knew that he wouldn't make it.

Nick stumbled another few steps, his vision failing him. He looked around with his failing sight; he knew this part of town. Knew it and hated it. Of all the places where he shouldn't stop it was here. But he couldn't go any farther, his body wouldn't let him. He sagged against another wall, his bloodstained hand hard against his side; his body slumped against the wall of the ally where he had stopped.

He needed to get to the Triskelion.

They had the best doctors that money could by there.

Doctors that could help him there.

He would be safe once he got there.

As it was, he couldn't believe he had been so stupid in the first place. He should have known that leaving his guards hadn't been a good idea. He just hadn't expected the Mutant's in the area to be so mad at him. He hadn't done anything to harm them, at least not to his knowledge. He hadn't expected them to attack him, and he especially hadn't expected one of them to pull a gun on him and shoot him in the side. He had dealt with them and run away, back towards his guards.

But he saw now that it was useless.

He wouldn't be able to get to help.

He wouldn't be able to get to help in time.

He almost groaned as he looked up. He could even see the lights of the Triskelion in the distance. He could see the lights that would have given him safety, the lights that he had been heading towards.

He knew that he couldn't get there.

It'd be impossible.

A sound greeted him suddenly, different from the pitter-patter of the rain that drenched everything and the familiar sounds of New York City. Light, hurried, and quiet. The sound was at least at the corner of the street he was on, but getting closer.

Footsteps.

Nick blearily looked up. His good eye latched onto something coming forward, towards him through the downpour, he tried to move towards it, to ask for a phone, but as he leaned forward he fell to the ground. His body finally stopping. The world swam and everything went black.

***

Nick sat up fast, his hand reaching towards his side, where his holster should be. It wasn't there. He looked around. He was in a room, a bedroom, it was small but clean and the furniture was well cared for.

He saw a flicker of motion to his left, near the door of the room, and his eyes flew to that spot. Someone hurried into the small room, a young beautiful woman.

The woman's skin was a rich, dark, bronze colour, almost the same colour as Storm's skin, but a hint lighter. Nick had never seen a more beautiful shade before. Her skin was dark enough to be exotic, foreign, and, because of that, intoxicatingly gorgeous. Every exposed inch of her skin seemed to glow, not with reflected light, but with light that she cast. The entire image of her was bathed in a light that made Nick's breath catch and his eyes widen.

Her hair was a gorgeous red. Her short red hair seemed to be on fire, the colour of her hair reminding Nick immediately of the multi-hue of flames. Her hair framed her face in large spikes in the front; the back was cut short and spiked as well. The unseen energy that was all around her in her hair making the flaming expanse form into spikes and wild strands giving her a dazzling air. Her red hair was a halo of spikes around her head, each piece seeming to glow faintly, making her appearance ethereal in a way that he couldn't put his finger on.

Her face was astounding as well. Her nose was small, petite even, a cute button. Black kohl fanned away from her eyes, making them pop. Her lips were full and a shade of dark, seductive, lush red. She had beautiful, high, angular cheekbones that were beautifully chiselled and strikingly prominent. Her cheekbones accentuated her large eyes, and her large red lips. Although her cheekbones were prominent, they still managed not to take away from the feminine curve of her face.

Her face was undoubtedly gorgeous, but her frame was just as beautiful. Her body was an hourglass; her hips were wide enough that they made Nick want to look at them some more, and her bust was large enough that Nick's cheeks flamed. Her waist, conversely, was narrow and gorgeous. She had long, dizzying legs, a slender neck, pianists fingers, and lengthy well-defined arms. The combination of her long features, as well as her small waist and tall stature, made her look sylphlike, but in such a way that made her body look strong and sinuous, instead of sickly and wraith-like.

All of the woman's clothing, and her lack of clothing, showed off the strong muscle that permeated her incredible body. There didn't seem to be an ounce of extra fat anywhere on her body, and Nick could see lean but gorgeous muscle rippling under her taught bronze skin. Her arms and legs were beautifully defined, and the plane of her stomach was magnificently distinct, her abs rippled slightly as she took a breath, allowing Nick to see the ridge of her abs. Her long neck drew anyone's gaze down towards her ample amount of chest; her long arms made Nick wonder how it would look if she were to stretch up, and her dizzying legs made Nick's head spin as he gazed at them.

Nick was awestruck by the body that the woman possessed. He knew that women would kill to have a body like this woman had and that men would go crazy trying to find a woman as beautiful as her. Nick could see her perfect muscle rippling as she moved. Her body flexed as she took a step forward, towards him, it was, by far, the most gorgeous movement Nick had ever seen.

Every muscle clenching.

Tightening perfectly.

It was amazing.

Her beauty and features were exciting. However, her clothing was the most provocative thing about her. Her upper body was clothed in a tank top that hugged her body like a second skin, the shirt more painted on than worn. The cut of the tank top was also a little lower than normal, the bowl cut of the front of the shirt showing a large amount of the woman's chest. The tank top was covered up slightly, however, by a red button down shirt, which was unbuttoned, covering up her arms and her back. However, the tank top wasn't plain; it was a Rolling Stone's shirt, complete with the Rolling Stone's logo and all. The base of the shirt was as black, and it had the Rolling Stone's logo on it, so across the woman's ample, and gorgeous, chest was a large red mouth with it's tongue sticking out of it. As the woman took a breath, her chest stretched the mouth out into a wicked grin before she let her breath back out, making the mouth merely a smile again.

Her lower body was covered by a pair of jeans. The jeans were tight and beautiful, dark navy that bordered on black in colour, and held her body perfectly. The jeans were tight all the way down her legs to her calves where the jean turned into a perfect boot-leg.

Her feet were covered in a pair of black boots that came up to her mid-calf. The boots, like the jeans and shirt, were hardly normal as well, although they were less provocative. They were fixed with silver buckles, which Nick assumed fastened them, all the way up the outsides and stitched through with red. The heel on the boot was more of a stiletto than a boot heel, coming up a few inches, and tapering off to a small point that would have made any woman envious. The boot, especially the stiletto heel, accentuated the length of her already dizzying legs, drawing the gaze down her perfectly muscled legs.

The low cut of her tank top allowed Nick to see that she wore a necklace. It was a small silver chain with a small charm. The necklace rode high on her neck, just below the hollow of her throat. The charm appeared to be a small replica of Captain America's shield, the shield in silver instead of in colour.

The woman also had on a belt. The belt was slung low over her left hip and it rode high against her right hip, obviously proving to be more decorative than functional. The large buckle resting in a very interesting position.

Nick tried not to stare at her.

It was an almost impossible task.

Nick found himself liking the look.

However, that wasn't the most impressive part of her.

Nick was lost in the woman's gaze.

Her entire body was gorgeous; Nick wouldn't hesitate to consider her perfect, she was every boy's dream girl, and beautiful enough that Nick wished he could just touch the woman's skin with an ache he'd never felt before. But her eyes were the most gorgeous thing he had ever seen. The colours of her eyes were amazing. Her eyes were emerald; however, overlaying the beautiful green seemed to be a light blue that made it look like she had rays of blue coming from her pupil to her green eyes. The look in her eyes was just as startling as her eye colours. Her eyes were slightly cloudy, emotions undulated through them, two emotions she noticed immediately, and it made Nick almost sway.

Playfulness.

Lust.

The contradiction, between the bronze skin, the red hair, the black kohl, the dark red lips, and the startling green and blue eyes, made her even more exotic, and that much more attractive.

It wasn't merely her startling eyes; it wasn't even that lust and playfulness shone in her gaze. It was the look that she pinned Nick with. She seemed to drink him in with her gaze, and as she glanced at him, her look was something between seductive and playful, the emotions in her eyes growing as she looked at Nick. The look in her eyes complimented her full lips as she looked upon him, which held an impossibly sexy smirk.

She fixed him with her eyes and Nick couldn't move.

All Nick knew was that there was just something about the woman standing in front of him, something that he couldn't quite put his finger on, that made the woman even more beautiful to him than any other woman he had ever seen. She was gorgeous, yes, but she wasn't beautiful in a classic sense, not beautiful like an actress or a model. Yet she was striking, there was something that made her even more beautiful than all of the actresses and models put together. It took long seconds for Jan to put her finger on what she was.

It wasn't her odd eyes or her odd dress that made her different. It was her entire look. The air around her seemed to hum with the feeling that she was different. That was what drew Nick the most. He could almost feel that she wasn't normal, that she wasn't like a normal Human. She was new, she was exciting, and she was foreign.

She was exotic.

Nick loved the look and feel of her, her exotic flare.

The thing that made her _her_.

Nick found himself experiencing the oddest experience that he had ever had. He had been hit by lust countless times before, but there was something about this woman in front of him that brought out his most primal instincts. He wanted to have her all to himself, Nick didn't want anyone to see the woman in front of him besides him.

Nick wanted her with a passion he had never felt before.

And Nick loved feeling that way towards her.

The young woman in front of him couldn't have been over 25, but she seemed to hold herself in a way that made him believe that she was the single smartest person in the world. A way that made the outfit that she was wearing look as if it was worth a million dollars, and her body was one of the most gorgeous things Nick had ever seen.

The woman tossed her head slightly, her face splitting in a gorgeous smile, pearl white teeth standing out against dark red lips and dark honey skin.

"You shouldn't be moving so much." The woman said, her voice was very quiet, soft, and accented slightly with a tone from a different country, although Nick couldn't tell which one, it sounded almost like something between Eastern European, English maybe, and Middle Eastern, and tinged with worry. The woman rushed forward and gently placed a hand on his arm, pressing him lightly down to the bed, her warm hands soft against his body, and the motion the gentlest Nick had ever encountered. She looked at his side, her fingers running over the skin.

Nick, for the first time, realized that he had no shirt on. He also noticed that the large wound that had been on his side wasn't there anymore. "Wh…" Nick barely said.

"Oh… I'm sorry… it's just… you were hurt and… I couldn't get you to the hospital in time, so I healed you here." The young woman said as she looked up at him slightly.

"You… healed me?" Nick asked.

"Yes, I did." She said. She seemed to steel herself. Nick looked at her, confused, for a few seconds before he realized what she was worried about. People didn't always take kindly to Mutants, in fact most of the time they didn't, this girl had gone out of her way to heal him, to take care of him for God only knows how long, and she was actually afraid that he'd harm her in return.

"Thank you." Nick said quietly. She looked up at him and gave a small smile. "You didn't have to."

"I'm a healer at heart; I couldn't let you stay hurt."

"Healer's right…" Nick commented. He looked over at the young woman and nearly hit his forehead. "I'm sorry, sometimes I don't think. Steve would have my head if he found out about this, my name's Nick." Nick said as he held out his hand.

"Grace." The young woman responded.

"Thank you, Grace." Nick said, his voice ringing with sincerity.

"It was my pleasure." Grace said with a smile as she stood. Nick watched her rise. "I have soup ready, you shouldn't eat anything much heavier than that for at least twenty-four hours, I'll bring you some water, do you need anything else?" Grace asked.

"Where are my things?" Nick asked. Grace nodded to the bedside table, Nick's things sat there, including his gun. "Thank you." Nick said as he looked back up, Grace was gone.

Nick picked up his things and looked through them after a second. He was shocked that he wasn't surprised that nothing was missing. Grace, for some reason, seemed to be a genuine Good Samaritan, it practically flowed off of her, out of her, that she wanted to help, that she was a good person. Nevertheless, Nick was usually wary, warier than to just accept that a person, any person, no matter how good they seemed, was really just a good person, and he was surprised at himself for actually allowing himself to just trust someone like that.

Grace walked back into the room; she had soup, soft bread, and water for him. She handed it to him and then disappeared again. She came back five minutes later with Nick's clothes and a second bowl of soup for him. He ate half of it before he pushed it away. She took it and walked from the room. Nick changed his clothes, slipping his things back into their respective pockets. "Uh, Grace, I know it's not really any of my business but… didn't you have to go to work today?" Nick asked. Grace looked back into the room.

"No, my boss is out today."

"What do you do?"

"I'm a secretary at a firm in town. What about you?"

"I run a company." Nick said with a shrug. He picked up his phone and flicked it open. He looked at it in shock for a few seconds.

"Is something wrong? Did I miss something?" Grace asked as she saw Nick's look.

"No, it's just… no one called me. Most of the time they do." Nick said as he saw that he had absolutely no messages.

"Well, I didn't find you until late, and it's only about eight. Maybe they haven't needed you yet." Grace said with a shrug.

"Maybe…" Nick said with a shrug. As if on cue Nick's phone rang. He answered it as Grace tactfully left the room. "Hello, Ni…" Nick started only to be cut off mid-sentence by the other person. It was his secretary. "Yes, Janice… yes, I know that I had… yes, I rem… the meeting, yes… Jani…" Nick tried to fit in a full sentence around Janice's yammering. Janice was the secretary that had been appointed to him by Tony Stark. She not only stopped him from talking, but she was bad at her job as well. Nick could never get any work done with her, and he could never talk on the phone, or ask questions, because of her. It was horrible, but Nick endured it because not many people were able to handle such sensitive work. Grace appeared back in the room. Nick put his hand over the mouthpiece.

"Who is that?" Grace asked.

"My secretary."

"What's she doing?"

"Complaining about me. She'll be on this rant all day long." Grace cocked an eyebrow but didn't comment. Nick grimaced as Janice's voice screeched again. "Sorry about this… um… could you tell me where exactly we are?"

"Less than a block from where I found you." Grace said. Nick looked out the window and saw that the Triskelion hadn't shifted from the last time he saw it. He couldn't believe that Grace lived in this part of town alone. He had never been one to try and separate people into groups because of their gender, in his mind, and in his experience, women could do as much as men could if they were given the same opportunities, and if they couldn't do it the exact same they could at least achieve the same results, but he didn't think that a young woman should live in this part of town alone. Nick also realized something else as he looked out the window; he wasn't a light man, being six feet tall and some change and full of muscle. He wasn't a lightweight; he wondered how Grace had managed to get him all the way here, even if it was less than a block. "Do you need me to drive you somewhere?"

"No, I'll be fine, but thanks for the offer." Nick said. He removed his hand from the mouthpiece. "Janice, will you please stop, I know I'm a little late, but I was doing things, alright. Now, I'm going to need a car… No, I don't need the entire team; just a car will be fine, I'm sure they'll be able to find me." Nick said. Janice started complaining again. "Janice, just send a car, alright? Thank you." Nick hung up the phone and looked up at Grace.

"You have to leave?"

"Sometime soon." Nick said with a shrug. He looked over at Grace. "I know it's not really my place but… tell me a little more about yourself. It's a special kind of person that will take someone off of the streets with a gunshot wound to the side." _A very useful special kind of person, especially in my line of work. _Nick added to himself.

"Nothing much to tell. My work's my life, and when it's not running my life my volunteer hours at the hospital are."

"You work at the hospital too?"

"I volunteer at the hospital. They don't know that I have powers; they just think that I'm good at helping people, at making them feel better. They stick me with the terminally ill patients, and they never question why they get better, and if they do they blabber on about how I must have a healing Angel looking over me and my people." Grace said with a shrug.

"It's pretty sad that people will accept a healing Angel over a Mutant with healing abilities." Nick said with a sigh as he scratched the back of his head. Grace didn't comment.

"What about you?"

"I'm a workaholic, have been for years. I'm alright with my job; I don't love it but… I'd like it a lot more if my secretary wasn't so mad at me all the time, or if everyone else that I knew didn't freak out that I wasn't at a meeting that didn't have anything to do with me in the first place. She triple books me all day long, and when she does things like that someone always gets to yell at me. But enough about me; you work at the hospital and as a secretary?"

"It's not really work at the hospital; it's using my powers to help people, like I helped you. That's what's important. I don't like seeing people hurting, so I help them." Grace said with a shrug. Nick's pager rang. He looked down; it was his secretary, most likely telling him that she had sent someone.

"I-"

"Have to go, I know the drill." Grace said. Nick gave a small smile and walked with Grace to the door of the apartment that she lived in. It was small, but it was well cared for, like the room that he had stayed in.

Nick turned to Grace as he moved through the door. She smiled at him and gave him a piece of paper. On it was a phone number. "You can reach me there if you need my help. I can heal just about anything you can put me too." Grace said.

Nick took the card out of his pocket and handed it to Grace. "On the front are my business numbers, on the back's my home phone number and my cell. Call me if you need me, for anything. You saved my life, Grace, if you need anything, no matter how small I want to help." Nick said.

"Thank you."

"No, thank you." Nick said. He walked out of the apartment building and down to the corner, a smile on his face. A black car pulled up beside him. He slipped into the rear seat of the car. The driver looked back at him.

"Where to, General Fury?" The elderly man asked.

"To the Triskelion, Jarvis. I have some work to do."

***

"I heard that you're firing your secretary." Tony Stark said as he walked into Nick's office late in the evening. Nick looked up at him but didn't comment. "Do tell, Nick."

"She deserves it. She always has me triple booked with things that I don't need to do and she won't shut up." Nick said with a shrug.

"If you say so. Do you need me to find another secretary for you? One that I trust not to leak everything to the media?" Tony asked. Nick looked back down at the piece of paper in his hand.

"No, I have an idea about who I want… how are talks with the X-Men coming?" Nick asked.

"Pretty well, it turns out that Wolverine and Steve have some kind of past together, they don't like each other, but even so Logan put in his support for the Coalition, mostly because he likes you, at least that's what we assume it's because of.

"Most of the team is following him like a puppy dog, which is nice, although kind of scary, and Xavier's agreed to think about it. Drake doesn't like it but, to tell you the truth, I think that Logan hold a hell of a lot more sway there than Bobby does, and if Charles wants to go for it and he has Logan's support no one's going to be able to stop him. But that's beside the point; tell me about who you're thinking of getting for the new secretary job. Is she pretty?" Tony asked with a smirk. Nick glared at him. "Possessive, Nick? I like her already."

"Fo-" Nick started. Right then a guard rushed into Nick's office, his eyes wide, panting lightly. "What is it?"

"It's Wasp, sir, they're bringing her in now. She's hurt." The soldier said.

***


	2. Chapter 2

_**Help**_

_**Chapter II**_

"She's hurt?" Tony asked as he looked at the young soldier.

"She's beat up pretty bad." The soldier said. Nick stood, Tony followed suit without a seconds hesitation. They went down to the medi-lab. Standing there was Steve, Pietro, Wanda, Thor, Natasha, and Clint. Nick, Tony, and the soldier rushed up right as they wheeled Janet through into the medi-lab. Her body was full of bruises, cuts, and, what looked like, huge white hives.

"What happened to her?" Nick asked the doctor.

"In my opinion, an allergic reaction to ant bites on top of abuse." Said the doctor. She looked up at Nick. "Of course, that's just a first look; I'd have to do a full scan to see what's really wrong with her but… I've seen this enough times to know what it is." The doctor stated.

"Ant bites?" Thor asked. He looked at the large hives on her body. "They don't look like ant bites; they're mighty big wounds for such a small creature."

"Not when you're the size of a wasp their not." Tony commented quietly. The team looked at him in shock. A soldier rushed through the hallway.

"General Fury, there's someone here to see you." The soldier reported.

"What?" Nick asked.

"A young woman… She has your business card, Sir." The soldier told the group.

"What… let me guess, pretty, great eyes, red hair, tanned skin, and a body to die for." Nick said. The soldier nodded.

"Do you want me to send her away, Sir?"

"No… send her up." Nick said. The soldier nodded, although he looked surprised, and walked off. "Make it fast, soldier." Nick added, the soldier bolted. Less than a minute Grace appeared, clothed in a pair of grey slacks that made her long legs look intoxicating, a white button-down shirt with the top two buttons unbuttoned, which showed a nice V of bronze skin at her neck and her necklace, and a white lab coat over it. The group was shocked by her appearance; it was obvious on their faces.

"I thought you said you didn't work at the hospital."

"I don't work at the hospital, it was gift from the Doctors after my fiftieth terminally ill patient miraculously got back up and walked out of the hospital." Grace said with a shrug.

One of the doctors from the room came out into the hallway; all eyes looked over at him. "We have a problem, General Fury. She's not taking well to the antibiotics." The doctor said.

"Gra-" Nick started.

"That's why I'm here." Grace said with a smile at the doctor. The doctor looked at her in shock for a second before something akin to adoration entered his eyes. "I'll have her fixed up in no time."

"Thank God you're here, Shihar. I was about to ask the General if we could send for you." The doctor stated the other doctors came out of the room, all of them staring at Grace, most with a smile on their face.

"How do you do that?" The first doctor that met with Nick asked Grace.

"I'd say it's because I'm a Goddess, but giving present company that might insult someone." Grace said with a smirk as she walked into the room.

"Who is that?" Steve asked, he was visibly shocked.

"That's Grace Shihar. I'd bet good money that she's the best healer in the world, she can heal anything, from cuts and bruises to AIDS or terminal cancer, she can heal them all. Most of the doctors don't believe that she has power, but I've seen her work, I've seen what she can do." The first doctor commented.

"She once brought a man back from flat lining on the operating table with no heart in him. New heart, new liver too, no scar to even show that he was in surgery. She's amazing." The second doctor agreed.

"Don't let her hear you talking like that, John, you know how she is." The first doctor stated.

"What do you mean, how she is?" Wanda asked.

"She's a Mutant, well, at least we assume that she's a Mutant, she won't even tell us if she is or isn't, and with how bad things are for them right now she likes to keep a low profile. Most of the doctors at Mercy General don't know that she is, but there are some of us have walked in on her healing one time or another." The first doctor said.

"The doctors at Mercy General petitioned, they put in a clause on the sheet that everyone signs when everyone goes in for help that they're alright with alternative methods of healing. That's her. She usually just likes to hole herself up with her terminally ill patients and heal them but… I've seen her in the ER. It's almost scary, victims with gunshot wounds, stab wounds, burns, broken limbs, car crash victims, she touches them and they heal completely." John said with a small smile.

"She works at the hospital?" Pietro asked.

"She volunteers at the hospital, she works as a secretary." Nick said. The entire group turned to look at him in shock.

"Nick and I have met." Grace said from the doorway. The team looked back at Janet, her large hives had disappeared, her bruises and cuts were gone, and her slight pallor seemed to have clear up. She looked as if she was in perfect health. The doctors hurried into the room to see what they could do for Janet leaving the Superheroes and Grace alone.

"Disney was right." Nick said.

"What are you talking about?" Natasha asked.

"It _is_ a small world after all." Grace said with a smirk. The group tried not to laugh at Natasha, who obviously didn't get the reference. "I'm sorry, and I don't mean to disappoint, but the real reason I'm here is because that helpless case I picked up off of the street last night left this at my apartment, and I decided he might need it." Grace said, her hand turned and a card seemed to appear in between two of her fingers. Nick picked up the card, looked at it for long seconds, and smiled.

"So that's where it went, I was almost worried for a minute that I had lost it." Nick said, he slipped the card into his pocket. He looked over at Grace. "Thanks."

"Can we, ya know, back up a step. What the hell?" Pietro asked.

"I've healed Nick before." Grace explained with a shrug.

"Got it." Wanda said with a nod.

"Wh-" Nick started. He was cut off by a ringing from Grace's hip. Grace winced. "You have to take that?"

"It's my boss." Grace said with a shrug. Nick opened the door for her into one of the other med rooms. She stepped in with a wry smile. "It's not like you won't hear it anyway." Grace muttered as she closed the door. Behind the glass the group saw her open the phone and put it to her ear. A dull roar screeched out of the phone loud enough that they could hear an inaudible voice even through the bulletproof glass. Grace, who was facing away from the group, pulled the phone from her ear and held it out. The group winced when they realized that if it was loud for them it was screeching for her.

The roaring seemed to ebb and Grace held the phone to her ear again, she said something so quietly that the group couldn't hear it and jerked the phone away from her ear again just as another dull roar billowed from it. "She's getting yelled at by her boss?" Steve asked.

"I don't really understand, her boss isn't supposed to be in today. At least that's what I was told earlier." Nick said.

"Who… oh, Grace, boss. Yeah, he's one of those bosses that you just don't want to ever meet." Said John as he came back out of Wasp's room. The team looked at him quizzically. "Grace's got one hell of a time with him; if there's one thing that's not perfect she gets yelled at for it. I've heard one of their… conversations. It's pretty bad, he curses and screams and she just stands there and takes it; I never understood why she puts up with him. I mean, one would think that after a while she would get tired of being yelled at, I mean, she could make billions in medicine if she wanted to, but no, she just sits and takes the crap that he deals out to her. She doesn't even seem phased by it most days, she just listens and talks. That woman has patience that is unmatched in any other person in the world. I don't think that anyone else could put up with her boss, so she does."

"He's that bad?" Tony asked.

"The last time that I heard them 'talking' he was going on about how the flowers in his office weren't placed in symmetrical alignment with the second star closest to the planet." John said with a small, sad smirk.

"…Okay… bad boss." Steve said.

"Hey, Nick I have an idea…" Tony said with a large smirk. Nick glared at him. "Don't worry; I'll take care of this. Besides you do need a good secretary, and she's cute." Tony said as he knocked on the door.

Grace turned to look at him quizzically, a slightly sheepish look on her face. Tony opened the door and held out his hand. Grace cocked an eyebrow but put the blaring phone in his hand. Tony waited for it to settle down on the other end of the line and then put the phone to his ear.

"Hello, this is Tony Stark." Tony said, an expression between a smirk and a smile on his lips. Stunned silence met everyone's ears. "Yes, and I would like you to know that Grace no longer works for you, she works for me." A buzz from the other side of the line came through, inaudible to anyone but Tony. Tony gave a small smile before he answered. "No, I don't care that you have no secretary if you don't have her. She's working for me now."

Another inaudible sound filtered through the phone. Grace's eyes were wide in shock, the rest of the team were just looking on as if this was normal. "I know that you're mad about this, but you'll just have to deal with it. She's already accepted. Now, I suggest that you get to looking for another secretary, Grace's not coming back to work for you." Tony said, he handed the phone to Grace, who took it in shock.

"Are you kidding me?" Grace asked.

"We happen to have an open position. Nick's secretary was… unsuited for the job. You think you could work with him?" Tony asked.

"…Sure…" Grace said with a confused shrug.

"Alright… you have to talk to Nick; he'll get everything squared away with you." Tony said as he gently pushed Grace into Nick who gave a large grin.

"So, let's talk about…" Nick said as he grabbed Grace's arm and walked off with her.

***

"Captain Rogers." Grace said. Steve nearly jumped back. He had thought that he had the room to himself, no one was ever up this early in the Triskelion, and he had been so quiet that even if someone was in the dark room they wouldn't see him.

"How'd you know it was me?" Steve asked after a second.

"I can sense the Super Soldier Serum. I'm sorry if I startled you." Grace's smooth voice commented.

"I just didn't expect anyone here. Speaking of which, why are you here?"

"Nick insisted that I move in to the Triskelion as soon as possible, he didn't like the neighbourhood that I lived in, so here I am."

"He doesn't like my neighbourhood either, but he doesn't make me move."

"That's because he thinks that you can handle yourself."

"As if you can't." Steve said as he moved farther into the room, towards Grace's voice, and found a seat near her. This close up he could see most of her frame although her face was still indistinct. "I saw how you walked, you know how to handle your body, I can see that you know how to fight. It's obvious; it's in the way you move."

"You're the only one that I know of who's noticed it so far. Of course, with your experience in the field I should have known that you'd see it. What gave me away?"

"To be honest… you slink…" Steve said as a light blush peppered his cheeks as he remembered the way she moved through the room, the way she held herself as she walked, and the unmistakable sway to her hips that had all of the men in the Triskelion already looking at her. He was glad that Grace couldn't see him; he didn't want to have to explain his vicious blush.

"Slink… that's a good way to put it. I suppose I do slink. I've never seen, nor watched it, but then again I don't watch myself walk very often."

"I… I'm curious though, I can't place it. Most of the time I can tell what someone knows by how they walk, how they hold themselves, I can tell styles by that. But with you, I don't know."

"It's probably because it's something I made up myself. I'm not very good at the entire organized style thing, it never worked for me, so I just took all of the fighting I saw and customized it."

"Customized… good with me. I'd like to see it sometime when you have time. I have this thing for fighting styles."

"Sure, Captain Rogers, whenever you want."

"You can call me Steve."

"Call me Grace, if we're being informal about it. I'm sure you came in for something that wasn't relating to me and I'm sorry that I've distracted you; do you need the light on?" Grace asked.

"Just coffee." Steve said. He felt something slide into his hands; he held it for long seconds before he realized it was a mug. He found the rim and brought it to his lips, coffee with two sweeteners, just the way he liked it, met his lips. "Thanks…"

"No problem."

"How'd you know about the sweeteners?"

"Cheat sheet. Black Widow seems to get you all coffee a lot, she has a list in the top drawer, I found it when I was making coffee earlier."

"Oh… do you have some for everyone or something?"

"No, when I sensed you coming I fixed it for you. I figured that's what you were coming in for."

"Nick's going to love you, coffee ready and everything. I think he'd keep you on for all eternity just for having coffee for him."

"I do try."

"So Nick made you move?" Steve asked after long seconds of silence between the pair.

"He said, and I quote, 'I don't feel safe having you living so far away, what if something were to happen, what would we do then? We need you here, Grace, and as much as I know you must love your apartment, I just can't, in good conscious, let you stay there'. I'm pretty sure he was working on it the entire time we were talking."

"Sounds like fun… why didn't you tell him you could fight?"

"I've never been one to deny people their simple pleasures. If Nick doesn't want me to stay at my apartment because he worries about me I don't mind."

"I don't think I've ever met anyone who thinks that way."

"It's a skill."

"I'll say."

"Stark's coming." Grace commented.

"Wow… I can't believe that Steve's not up yet." Said Tony's voice, shock infusing his tone a second after Grace talked.

"I'm in here, Tony." Steve said. He heard Tony jump. "Grace and I are talking. You can turn on the light if you want." Steve stated. He could almost see Tony's eyebrow raising quizzically as he reached for the light switch.

"Bright light." Tony commented a second before light flooded the room. Steve, who had his eyes closed, opened them and looked over at Tony. The other man's mouth was hanging open in shock. Steve followed the trail of his eye to see Grace by the coffee pot, stretching down to pick up something off of the floor, her gorgeous body on display, her clothes were tight on her body as she reached, showing off her gorgeous body. Grace straightened and the gorgeous outfit that framed her body so well was once again a perfectly conservative business suit. "Wow…" Tony muttered.

"What was that Mr. Stark?" Grace asked as she looked over her shoulder at him.

"Tony." Tony corrected automatically.

"Wow, Captain America and Iron Man allow me to call them by their first name. Colour me loved." Grace commented with a smirk as she handed Tony a cup of coffee.

"Uh…"

"Two creams and a sugar." Grace said as she swept out of the room. She stopped at the doorway. "Tell Pietro that his coffee's on the left. Leave the one with the sticky note on it alone." Grace added as an afterthought before she disappeared.

"Morning guys." Pietro said as he walked into the room a few seconds later with Clint to see Tony and Steve staring at the door. He cocked an eyebrow but didn't say anything as he walked towards the coffee pot.

"Yours is on the left. I assume that that mean's yours is on the right, Clint, the one without the sticky note." Tony said after a second as he turned to face the other men. Pietro cocked an eyebrow but took up the cup on the left and drank. Hawkeye did the same, but with the cup on the right.

"Thanks."

"Grace did it." Steve told Pietro.

"I like that girl more and more every minute. Hey, talking about Grace, did you hear what Thor said?" Clint asked.

"Obviously not, what was it?" Tony asked.

"Thor said that he thinks he recognizes Grace. Something about her being really familiar. I don't see how anyone could forget her, even a bit, but Thor say's that he's kind of fuzzy about it."

"Well, he used to be a psychiatrist, and she has close ties to the hospital system, maybe they met through some kind of international meeting." Steve said with a shrug.

"Could be, but I still don't think that Grace's a person that you just forget." Pietro said with a shrug.

"No truer words." Tony asserted.

"I doubt that Grace would like you talking about her like this."

"Seriously Steve, you're too nice, besides, I bet that she loves it when people talk about her. Even you can't deny that she's beautiful." Clint stated.

"Yes, she's beautiful, but so is Wanda, and Janet, and Natasha, we're surrounded by beautiful women, what makes Grace so much different for you three?" Steve asked.

"It's the body. She has dizzying legs, a great neck, pianists fingers, long arms, and even her torso is nice and long. I doubt that there's an ounce of extra fat anywhere on that woman's body, it's amazing. Is it the same for you, Pietro?" Tony said with a smirk.

"No, it's all in the face for me. Her eyes are amazing, I've never seen eyes that blue, and her face is perfect, feminine, yet chiselled, very appealing. And she's got the sexiest lips I've ever seen. What about you Clint? What do you like about her?"

"It's got to be her legs, those are the best legs I've ever seen on anyone, they're practically a mile long and she's got some major definition on them, very sexy. Anyway, what about you, Steve, I know that even Captain America can find something about her that's attractive. No matter how old school you are. What is it?"

"Her personality…" Steve said with a shrug.

"Oh come on Captain America, what do you really like about her?" Tony said as he rolled his eyes. Steve coloured lightly.

"It _is _her personality, I like the way that she seems to hold herself, and that's all personality."

"Body, face, legs, personality… which one isn't like the other." Pietro jested.

"You can't tease him too much, he's old fashioned." Tony stated with a smirk.

"Old fashioned doesn't mean dead." Clint reminded the group.

"What are we talking about in here?" Nick asked as he walked into the room. He looked at the cup on the counter, it had a sticky note on it, and took it, he took a long drink and gave a small smile.

"What we find most attractive about Grace." Tony said with a smirk. Nick gave him a quizzical look. "What do you say, Nick, what do you find the most attractive about her? Clint said legs, Pietro says it's her face, and I said her body in general. What's her most attractive feature?"

"Eyes, definitely the eyes. They're perfect, a little weird with the whole different colours thing, but still very beautiful. And I've never seen that colour green in my life, it's perfect. Close second is the fact that she makes my coffee perfectly though." Nick added as he held up the cup of coffee with a smirk.

"See, even Nick picks something physical about her." Tony stated to Steve.

"Seriously, Steve, body, face, legs, eyes, personality? One really doesn't fit. Besides, you couldn't have talked to her much over the last two days that you've known her; she hasn't been here that much." Clint added.

"You really shouldn't tease him so much." A silky smooth voice said from the door. All of the men turned to see Grace leaning against the doorframe, a smirk on her lips. Steve blushed at the sight of her, all of the other men merely gaped.

"Steve, there was a call for you from Gail; she should be calling back any minute. I think she said that she was picking up the grandkids, but don't hold me to it." Grace said. Steve jumped up with a smile.

"Thank you, Grace."

***


	3. Chapter 3

_**Help**_

_**Chapter III**_

"She called Nick, so I got the message, it'll route to my office." Grace said as she started off. Steve followed her down the hall. He watched her back for long seconds.

"Uh… so what'd Gail say? Did she ask for me?" Steve asked to break the silence between them. He felt uncomfortable and he dropped his gaze to the ground, his thoughts going a mile a minute. He had talked to Gail only last night, she shouldn't need him again. As it was, they had an unofficial date night when they talked, every Tuesday, he wondered if she needed him. She had never needed him before, at least not something huge that she would call for. He didn't understand, didn't know, why she would call. Steve finally looked up and noticed that they definitely weren't going towards Nick, and thus Grace's, office. In fact, it looked like they were going down to the basement instead. "Uh… um… Grace… this isn't the way to your office…" Steve said.

"I know." Grace said as she threw a knowing smirk over her shoulder.

"Um… then where are we going?"

"Somewhere where the guy's won't interrupt you with more embarrassing questions that you don't like answering. Besides, I gained you about twenty minutes worth of time while 'Gail' calls so they won't come searching for you for a while." Grace said. Steve blushed deeply at her words.

"Well… where… where are we going?"

"Gym."

"The gym's on the second floor." Steve said. Grace stopped in front of a door and turned to look at him.

"Not that gym." The woman said with a smirk as she opened the door and walked in. Steve followed her, his eyes wide in shock. The gym was an exact duplicate of the gym he had on the second floor, however, this one was full of all kinds of weapons as well as pads. He wondered where they came from, and why he didn't know, or better yet, how Grace already knew.

"Nick's gym, at least it's supposed to be, he usually uses your gym, so I figured we could use his gym. Besides, he gave me free reign, so I figure I could just pop wherever I wanted to go." Grace said. Steve stared at her in open-mouthed shock. "You said you wanted to see me fight." Grace reminded him.

"Uh… now?"

"Now would be good." Grace said with a nod.

"Uh… right now?"

"Do you have a prior engagement that I'm not aware of?"

"Um… no… I don't… so… uh… sure…" Steve said, still staring at Grace. His eyes shot up to her face as he realized that they were talking about. He would get to see Grace fight; he would get to see a style that he had never encountered before. "Let's do this, so… you said your style was a bit of a lot of things, what kinds of styles?"

"You'll just have to see." Grace teased as she strode into the middle of the room and faced Steve. Steve hesitated before he moved to stand in front of Grace.

Steve took long seconds assessing what he knew about Grace, which was, admittedly, not a lot, and seeing if he could piece together her fighting style from her walk, which he had no luck in. Steve attacked, a light hit, just to get things started, because Grace obviously wasn't moving.

A second later, he found himself flat on the ground, Grace smirking down at him. "I know you can do better, Steve." Grace teased lightly with an endearing smirk. Steve got up, wary, it'd been a while since anyone had thrown him, and especially not that fast, he could barely remember a time when that happened to him.

This time Steve played it a bit cautious, he still threw the first punch, but he kept his guard up. He felt skin move against his hand as Grace slid next to his arm and inside his guard, her body bobbed suddenly, faster than he thought anyone could move, and she was behind him, he felt a quick tap, and he was down on the ground, hardly able to breath, let alone move. He felt a light touch a second later, Grace no doubt, on his back. "Any ideas, Steve?"

"The movements are a bit like Aikido, but… whatever you hit me with definitely wasn't. Can we go again?" Steve asked as he looked at Grace over his shoulder.

"Sure." Grace said with a nod as he helped the man up. Steve launched another punch, he watched again as Grace wound through his defences, he was expecting something against his back this time, so he turned just enough to get out of the way of the strike. Grace, instead of striking him in the back, sent a quick jab with her fingertips and then a strike with her closed hand to his side. He went down easily; it was as if his muscles weren't responding any more; they had been turned useless. He didn't feel Grace's hand on his arm, but he did feel it after a second as she moved him slightly.

"Wow…" Steve muttered as his mind jumped on what she must be using as the offensive moves. Grace looked at him quizzically. "It's… and correct me if I'm wrong, but it's almost like it's pressure point fighting…"

"You always were the smart one."

"Pressure point fighting… you must be a master of it… I've never even heard of anyone who was able to actually use it, it's not a 'real' fighting style… You created your own type of pressure point fighting. All by yourself? I mean, not to sound condescending or anything but… you're a secretary… and… it takes years to master something like that, and even longer to come up with something, and that's intensive training, when do you find the time?"

"I don't boast that kind of fame, Steve, I didn't create my own style, I just utilize what I know. I do have an advantage in it; the Human body is my playground after all." Grace said with a shrug as she helped Steve up. Steve was still looking at her with something akin to awe. "I know other styles, but for quick fights that's how I like to go, those are just stopping points, but I know all the kill points as well, not to mention the maim points, and just about every point in between." Grace added.

"It's amazing."

"You're a little bit too easily impressed, Steve, it's not that cool." Grace said, although she smiled at the compliment. With Steve, saying that he thought your fighting style was amazing, was as close to a compliment as you'd get, and she knew it.

"No, it really is amazing; I've never seen anything quite like it. I mean… really it's great, very fast, you could go through opponents like they were nothing, and the way you move is amazing, I've seen Aikido masters and they're not nearly as fluid as you are, it's seriously… I'm rambling, aren't I?" Steve asked after a second.

"Just a little."

"Sorry… I kind of get that way when I see cool fighting styles…" Steve said as he blushed, let his head fall so he was looking at the ground, and ran a hand through his hair and then rubbed the back of his head, a tick that he hadn't done in years, ever since he got the serum. He quickly brought his hand down, shocked at himself. He hadn't thought that he would ever do that again.

"You know, I can teach you a bit if you want." Grace said. Steve looked up in shock, his eyes wide.

"Really?" Steve said, his voice starting to border on ecstatic.

"Of course, we'll have to train a lot on it, but you should be able to do it, you already have great coordination and everything, so it shouldn't be too bad. How about this, why don't we meet every morning, after coffee, and train for a bit." Grace said with a smirk.

"Great."

"Perfect, it's a date. See you tomorrow morning, Steve." Grace said as she walked from the room.

***

"Hello Grace." Janet said as she saw Grace sitting at the table that she always occupied in the morning between when she made coffee and when Steve came in and they left to go train.

"Good morning, Janet." Grace greeted with a nod. She had been there two months and she was still getting used to the team. Thor kept on giving her odd looks, he was still trying to figure out how she was familiar, and Tony, Pietro, and Clint were acting like typical men when they saw a pretty woman, which was amusing to Grace. Natasha and Wanda were still just trying to get used to her. Nick and Steve were the only two who seemed to be able to really be able to talk to her, Nick because she was his secretary, and doing a wonderful job at it, and Steve because they fell together easily, especially now that they were training together.

She had yet to tell anyone about her training with Steve, there was never a time or a place for it, and it wasn't something that they particularly wanted others to step in on. Grace enjoyed the time that they spent training because she was teaching Steve something that he could use, and Steve enjoyed just watching Grace, how she fought, and how she moved.

But most of all, Steve loved her attention. He would never admit it, but training with Grace, having her undivided attention was a highlight of his day, she was funny, smart, and great to be around, there was no reason he wouldn't want to be around her.

Janet was thankful to Grace for healing her wounds, and she knew that it showed. She felt indebted to Grace for helping her in such a way, especially knowing that she had done it when it was sprung on her as it was. It was an act that she didn't expect from many.

Janet gave Grace a long look before she did something that she hadn't done before; she sat down across from Grace. Grace didn't look shocked, but then again, she rarely looked anything that wasn't completely put together. "Listen, Grace, I know that we don't know each other very well but… everyone likes you, you seem to be a great person, and I realize, when Tony or Pietro or Clint are rambling on about you, that none of us really know you well. And, I'm grateful for you healing me, but…"

"I assume that there's a point to this little talk that you're getting to." Grace said with a smirk.

"We just don't know much about you, that's all. I want to know why. You come in, having already healed Nick, heal me, and then become a secretary, even though we all know you could be making probably millions and millions as some kind of doctor or researcher."

"Money isn't everything, Janet, and although it's nice to have, it's not as necessary as everyone makes it out to be. Besides, why would I want to be a doctor or a researcher, I like being a secretary, and I like helping Nick, not to mention all of you." Grace said with a shrug.

"But why?"

"Well, the way I see it, you help me, I help you. You, Pietro, Wanda, Steve, Tony, Thor, Natasha, Nick… you all go off and save the world, I just make sure you have coffee when you get back." Grace said with a shrug.

"As if your powers couldn't be a help out there." Jan said as she waved a hand around.

"It could, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to go out and fight the good fight." Grace said. She leaned forward suddenly and grasped Janet's hand. Jan nearly reeled back from the contact, but the energy that drove through her frame was too perfect to leave. "Janet, you have to understand, the eight of you do that so I don't have to, we each have our place, yours is out there, mine is in here." Grace said before she released Janet and stood up.

Grace placed a kiss on Jan's cheek.

"Trust me on this one, Jan, it's all for the best." Grace said before she disappeared out of the room.

Janet was still fixed to the seat ten minutes later when Tony walked into the room with Natasha, Pietro, Wanda, Clint, Thor, and Nick, all coming for their morning coffee. The only two who weren't present were Steve and Grace. Tony gave Jan a quizzical look. "What's up, Jan? And where's Grace, and Steve?"

"I don't know… Grace left a bit ago…" Jan said, still a bit out of it. She was trying to run over her conversation with Grace in her mind, but for some reason she couldn't seem to really grasp what had happened, all she could think about was the fact that Grace had just kissed her, stood up, kissed her, and walked out of the room no less.

"You seem kind of out of it, Jan." Clint commented when he sat down. Wanda rolled her eyes, Pietro smiled in understanding, as did most of the rest of the group. Clint didn't have any tact; especially when it came to things like this. They all assumed that it had to do with Hank, who they still hadn't found for the domestic violence warrant that was out on him.

"It's Grace… we just talked, it was kind of weird." Janet said with a shrug as she looked up at the group now seated around the room.

"Grace?" Tony asked quizzically. Jan nodded. "What about her?"

"Well… she's kind of weird. I tried to talk to her, you know, get to know her, and I think she blew me off." Janet said as she scratched the back of her head, still trying to understand exactly how they got onto powers in the first place. And why Grace had kissed her.

"You think she blew you off? You don't even know if she did?" Pietro asked sceptically.

"That's the thing… I can't tell… I thought that we were having a fine conversation, and the next thing I know she kisses my cheek and sweeps out of the room." Janet said with a shrug. She sipped her coffee. "Maybe she was going to work early or something."

"Hey, where's Steve anyway. He's usually here by now." Wanda asked as she looked around the room.

"I know… it's kind of weird. He's usually the first one in." Pietro said with a nod as he sipped his coffee.

"Maybe he's helping Grace with something." Clint stated with a shrug.

"What would he be helping her with?" Thor questioned.

"Maybe she needs to lift something heavy." Natasha said with a shrug.

"She would get Thor for that, he's our resident weightlifter." Nick informed the group.

"Maybe she couldn't find Thor and went with the next best thing."

"Jan, do you really think that someone would pick Steve over Thor to pick something up for them?"

"Yes, Pietro, I can see it happening. Besides, Steve and Grace talk more than Thor and Grace, remember, they're always talking when we come in each morning, she probably felt more comfortable asking him than asking Thor."

"What if Steve couldn't do it? Seriously, he can't lift as much as Thor can, not even close." Clint mentioned.

"Do you luvs ever get tired of talking about me?" Grace's calm cool voice asked from the door. Grace was standing next to Steve in the doorway.

"Not really." Pietro commented. Grace rolled her eyes before she grabbed two mugs, her hands moving quickly as she fixed two cups of coffee before she handed one to Steve.

"I figured as much."

"Grace…"

"Yes Nick?"

"I have a stupid question."

"There are no stupid questions, only stupid people. You're hardly a stupid person, thus you obviously can't have a stupid question." Grace retorted with a smirk. The group stared at her in shock. "That was a 'yes Nick'." Grace said.

"Your necklace… you always wear the same one… why?" Nick asked. Grace's hand went to her throat, gently toying with the small shield there, it was a small copy of Steve's shield, and Grace always wore it.

No one had wanted to ask about it. They didn't want to pry, although they all wanted to know why Grace was wearing a copy of Steve's shield around her neck.

Grace gave a small laugh as she toyed with her necklace, shaking her head slightly as she breathed out a sigh. "Oh, it's a long story, Nick." Grace answered.

"Is it really a long story or do you just now want to tell us?" Clint asked.

"Actually, it…" Grace started. She suddenly fell silent, the smile on her face fading as her expression became remote. A second later, the air around Grace flickered and the young woman disappeared.

"Grace!" Steve said, his eyes widening, as he rushed to where she had disappeared.

"What the hell!" Tony exclaimed as he looked around the room in shock, the rest of the Ultimates doing the same.

"I'm calling her cell." Nick said he took out his phone and hit a single button, the phone ringing as Nick held the phone out a little so that everyone else would be able to hear.

"You've reached Grace, I'm unable to come to the phone, but if you leave your name, number, and a short message I'll get back to you as soon as possible." Grace's voice said.

"Dammit." Nick cursed as he slammed his phone shut and started to put his phone away. His phone rang in his hand and Nick immediately brought it to his ear. "Hello?" Nick asked.

"Uh… Hi… Nick?" Asked a young male voice through the phone. Nick stiffened suddenly, his eyes widening in shock.

"Iceman?" Nick asked in shock as he looked around the room, all of the Ultimates tensing.

"Yeah, thanks for sending down the relief aid, Nick. She's really helping Pete out." Bobby said.

"Wait a second… who's there with you?"

"Uh, like everyone."

"Put Logan on the phone."

"Logan?"

"Actually, Drake, just put it on speaker, alright? I want to hear what's going on. I'm putting it on speaker on my side too." Nick said as he put his phone down on the table on speaker.

"Uh, sure, it's on speaker everyone." Bobby said.

"So who are you again?" Colossus' deep voice echoed through the room.

"Colossus?" Steve asked.

"Captain America? Perhaps you can explain who this girl is."

"Sorry to run out on you guys, but Peter here was shot, so I had to start healing." Grace's voice responded.

"Wait a second, let me get this straight. You're name is Grace and you work in some way with the Ultimates." Scott's voice asked.

"She's with us, Cyclops." Nick explained.

"Just as I told you, Scott. You know, you're very mistrusting." Grace commented, a small smirk on her tone.

"Scott, if you don't trust Nick at least trust me, I've known Grace here for a few years, she's a good old friend." Professor Xavier's voice stated.

"You seem to have a lot of these good old friend that just pop out of nowhere." Nick remarked.

"I still don't trust her, Professor. Are you sure that I can't check her out?" Jean questioned.

"You can try; Miss Grey, but you won't get anywhere. Phoenix or no nothing gets through my psi-shields. Logan's shields look like tissue paper compared to me." Grace said as she gave a small sigh. A small groan echoed through the room. "Welcome back, Mister Parker." Grace added.

"What happened?" Peter's dazed voice asked.

"That's what I'd like to know." Natasha said.

"Well, from what I've gathered Grace somehow teleported from here to the Xavier Mansion where she healed Peter Parker, AKA Spiderman, from a gunshot wound." Tony said.

"Actually I teleported to get Peter, Bobby, and Kitty from the middle of Queens and then here to the mansion to get somewhere sterile. Peter decided to find out what happens when a spider tries to stop a speeding subway, with a gunshot wound, nonetheless. I can assure you, it's nothing good. Charles let me use the in house medical lab for the duration." Grace said.

"It was the least I could do, Grace, after how much you've helped me in the past. Besides, you did save my students and young Peter here, it's really the least that I could do. Just tell me if you need anything else, I'll be happy to supply it." Professor Xavier's voice said, his tone warm.

"Peter, what in the world were you doing trying to stop a subway? And who shot you?" Nick asked.

"I wasn't trying to stop the subway; I was blown into the subway by some Mutant with wind manipulation."

"Aerokinesis." Grace corrected.

"Huh?" Peter asked.

"The correct term for the ability to manipulate wind is Aerokinesis." Professor Xavier said.

"Right, sorry, I wasn't trying to stop the subway; I was blown into the subway by some Mutant with Aerokinesis." Peter said.

"Why?" Steve asked.

"Huh?" Peter asked.

"What'd you do to them?" Steve questioned.

"Nothing, I was going with Kitty and Bobby to pick her up and the next thing I know I'm getting shot and then I'm about to be run over by some subway car and then I'm here talking to you guys."

"Well at least you're all alright, that's the important part." Wanda told the group.

"Thanks to Grace, yeah. She pulls Peter out of the way at the last second, stops me and Kitty from being blown into the train, and she got the Mutant to calm down. I still don't know how she did it." Bobby said.

"Bobby, this happens to be one of those times that we as older guys impart invaluable lessons on you younger guys. The answer is simple; she's a woman." Nick said. Professor Xavier, Steve, Logan, Tony, Clint, and Pietro all gave a small nod and a shake of their head. Jean, Grace, Wanda, and Natasha smiled, a small laugh echoing from each of them as they shook their heads in amusement.

"I don't think I understand." Bobby said.

"That's to be expected. Ten years from now, you might get it down. You still haven't told us how you were shot, Peter." Tony asked.

"Uh… if I told you that cops really do hate me would you believe me?" Peter asked.

"Are you kidding, I get thirty-five cases of kids with either Mutant abilities or advanced physiology with gunshot wounds from police or other government officials a month." Grace said with a smirk before she ran a hand through her hair and shook her head.

"Really?" Nick asked.

"Yeah." Grace said with a nod.

"How in the world do you find thirty-five cases of Mutant kids getting shot a month? Most Mutants won't go to a hospital." Pietro said.

"Word of mouth. Turns out once you heal one superhuman kid the rest flock to you. Besides, I do great work, I don't ask questions, and I give great advice." Grace added.

"Maybe you should join the X-Men. Healing all kinds of wounds is definitely a talent that we could use." Scott said.

"Oh no, you're not taking her away from the Ultimates. You want her you'll have to come here for her." Nick said. Grace rolled her eyes and shook her head, a small smile on her lips.

"I'm flattered, Scott; but I already have a day job. Charles knows the number if you guy's need me. Peter, the same goes for you." Grace told the room with a smile.

"Grace, are you alright?" Steve asked.

"Peachy Steve. I'll be back as soon as possible." Grace said as she stood up.

"Is my itinerary on my desk?" Nick asked.

"Yes, and another cup of coffee. You have a pretty easy schedule today; your first meeting is lunch at twelve." Grace said, a small smile on her lips.

"Well then there's no need to rush. I'm sure that I can read simple instructions from a page."

"Nick, your lunch is with me; perhaps Grace will accompany me back then. She can spend some time here, making sure that Peter is alright, and then she can go back with you after our meeting." Professor Xavier said.

"That's alright with me. Grace, do you have a problem with that?" Nick asked.

"It's fine with me." Grace said.

"Great, although I do have a question for you, Grace." Steve said.

"Trust me, bub, you don't want to know the answer." Logan said.

"Well thanks for that, Logan." Grace sarcastically purred as she stood up and shook her head at the older man. Logan gave her a smirk and Grace merely glared at him. "Going off speaker, I'll see all of you guy's later." Grace said as she touched the phone. A small voice buzzed through the phone and Grace put it to her ear. Logan took the phone from her and walked from the room.

"Moody, much." Bobby said.

"It's alright, he's always like that." Grace said with a shrug.

"Wait a second, you know Jim?" Steve asked.

"My name's Logan. Not Jim." Logan growled as he walked up to his room.

"No, your name's Jim, and we worked together during the war, we did two drops in Africa and a drop in-"

"Normandy, I remember from that time you shot me. Congrats, you can still do the same song and dance, boy scout." Logan spat.

"Would I lie to you?" Steve questioned.

"Tactical advantage, of course." Logan said, his voice mocking.

"Do I need to come up with irreversible proof or something? Come on, I may have been put in a block of ice but I didn't lose my memory." Steve said. Logan gave a low growl and Steve sighed, taking the phone off of speaker and walking from the room with it with a small apologetic smile to Nick, who merely nodded to him.

"If I'm going to believe that I was Corporal James Howlett of the first Canadian Parachute Battalion during World War II yeah, you're gong to need some pretty amazing proof." Logan said.

"What do you want, Jim? You worked with me in Normandy and in Africa, I don't care if you want to believe it or not."

"That could have been anyone."

"No, it was a man who looked just like you with a healing factor that made him not only god-awful reckless but also a great soldier. You were a good man, Howlett, you still are, somewhere under there. You just don't remember it." Steve said before he hung up the phone.

"You know, that bastard really annoys me." Logan muttered as he walked down the stairs.

"Who?" Grace asked. Logan looked over at Grace, who was leaning against the banister of the staircase, and gave a small growl.

"Captain America."

"He's a good guy, Logan. Besides, he's not the only person who's been calling you James, remember Dugan?"

"Yeah, yeah…" Logan said with a small sigh. He turned to Grace, a small smirk creeping onto his face. "How are you doing, Grace? And don't give me that 'peachy' shit. It may work on Rogers, but I've known you longer than he has. You look tense." Logan said.

"Primed for danger is now, and ever will be, my constant state." Grace replied instantaneously.

"Grace…" Logan said, his voice low as he gently reached for her. She didn't shy from his hand, which grasped her wrist, and easily moved towards him when he pulled her gently. Logan, in an uncharacteristic show of compassion, linked his fingers with the woman's as he walked with her down the stairs.

"…Jim…" Grace half-purred half-breathed after long seconds of silence.

"I've decided that we're having food. I'm starving." Logan said.

"Let me ask Charles if I can use the kitchen here. I feel like making something." Grace said as she gently squeezed Logan's hand. She gave Logan a small smile as he released her fingers; Logan allowed her hand to leave his, although his expression stayed guarded. "Thank you, Jim." Grace said quietly as she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before she wrapped her arms around his and walked with him down towards the kitchen.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm better now." Grace retorted with a small smile.

***


End file.
